Two Guardian Reviews Prove British Entertainment is Having Its Moment
From Lola Young's triumphant return to a Brexit doc that shouldn't work but absolutely does—the UK's cultural output is delivering the goods right now.
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The Guardian dropped two wildly different reviews this week that somehow tell the same story: British entertainment is firing on all cylinders. On one end, there's Lola Young's highly anticipated live return at the O2 Apollo Manchester, which The Guardian describes as "buoyant" and "brilliant"—a charming, relatable set that explains why this Messy hitmaker has become such a gen Z icon. On the other, there's Brexit: A Very British Civil War, a documentary that The Guardian insists "has no right to be this much of a hoot" about what is, let's face it, a pretty sobering topic.
The contrast is instructive. Young is celebrated for being what The Guardian calls a "great oversharer"—her relatability and emotional honesty are precisely why fans connect with her after she stepped back from live performance. She's the intimate, confessional type. Brexit: A Very British Civil War takes the opposite approach: it's supposedly this weightier subject matter, yet The Guardian's reviewer found themselves having "a ball" thanks to blockbuster talking heads delivering "irresistible gossip" and, memorably, Nigel Farage apparently being "a total panto dame."
What ties these together isn't the content—it's the execution. Whether you're watching someone bare their soul on stage or watching political figures roast themselves on camera, British entertainment right now knows how to deliver. Young's comeback and this Brexit doc both landed within days of each other, and both proved that audiences aren't just watching—they're engaged, entertained, and ready to have feelings about it. That's the sweet spot.